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I had a lot of fun seeking out and setting up shots for Summer Colours Week‘s pink day…even managed to sneak one blue and one green in, too [I’ll put those up later]. I tried to represent a mix of outdoors [flowers and travel] and things I love doing in summer [yard sales, crafting, collecting bits and bobs at the beach].

Pick a bunch of lemons.
Juice them.
Add sugar [or honey/stevia/agave/whatever sweetener you like].
I usually do about 1 c. sugar to 2 c. lemon juice. I think most people like it sweeter.
Mix well. I have a locking pitcher so I just close it up and shake like crazy for a minute or two.

This is your lemon starter — it’s good in the fridge for at least a week, probably much longer, but ours never lasts that long.

Fill a glass 3/4 way with fizzy water [or regular water, if you don’t like the fizzy] and a couple ice cubes.

Top off with the lemon starter — this is highly subjective, but general guidelines are as follows:

Some girlfriends and I have beach day whenever our schedules and the weather allow [which hasn’t been often lately, we’re having a cold, wet almost-summer here in northern California — the annual sandcastle contest was even cancelled] and we bring a stack of guilty pleasures magazines, including Cosmo, one issue of which featured a sidebar of quick snacks to make with chickpeas (garbanzos), which are loaded with fiber and some other good stuff.

Crispy chickpeas
Sauté chickpeas in a bit of olive oil with a pinch of coarse salt til crispy. Sprinkle with parmesan.

I had the last fish taco and a quesadilla for lunch. Remind me to stop buying flour tortillas, corn is superior. And cheaper.

I learned today that those wacky sideshow cars — the sedans with the giant wheels — are called donks. There are several of them in my neighborhood, one is a giant ad for Mickey’s Malt Liquor, another is a white Lexus with that says LEXUS in giant gold letters on the side. There’s another Lexus that has the Lexus logo styled a la that colored YSL one patterned all over it. A big brown 70s Cadillac.

Anyway. I am wondering if that “dum donk” song that I love [play] is not about booty after all. Or if the cars have something to do with ladies’ behinds. Also how I can convince anyone I know to go to the A-Trak/Little Sister show that’s coming up, it is going to be an absolute panic. I need more entertaining, entertainable friends.

I went to Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco last weekend and it was *crazy*. Here are a couple photos from my adventure, sorry I didn’t catch most people’s name, if you know who any of them are feel free to leave a comment…

Saturday we went on a date day down the coast [I know, I know, you’re all shocked]. We used our new Fastrak gadget [a debit thingy that allows you to zip through the toll lines at the bridges here] on the San Mateo Bridge for the first time, then sat in lots of traffic going over the peninsula hills because it was Saturday and gorgeous out and who wouldn’t want to go to the ocean. I mean, really, this is why we all live in California.

Our friend George had a gig at a café in Half Moon Bay that we tried to catch but we were late because of the traffic and me screaming STOP HERE!!!! when I spotted the BERRIES 99¢ sign at the honey + produce stand.

99¢ is a third what blackberries and blueberries cost over on our side of the bay and corn was 10/$1 so you’d better believe we stocked up. In case you didn’t hear me, that’s TEN CENTS FOR AN ENTIRE EAR OF CORN.

And there was lots of local honey.

When we got downtown, George was already headed out, so we said hi then picked up some picnic provisions at the deli and did a little window shopping on Main Street. I loved this under the sea wedding cake:

While Chad was picking out cheese, I ran across the street for a fix at The Posh Moon, which is a lovely little boutique run by a seriously francophilic [?] mother and daughter and is wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling romantic neutral bohemian etc. clothing and accessories and some housewares, many of which are made by locals — I’m just in love with this girl Effie’s line that they carry. Anyway. It is the sweetest place and I just love walking in there. I bought a green silk summer blouse and a tiny pewter blowfish made by an artist in Rhode Island — I’ll try to take a picture of it later because it’s about the cutest little figurine ever.

I snapped a shot of their ribbon flower hair clips as a reminder, there’s an excellent book at our library about making these and it’s something I keep meaning to do. But you should go buy some, they’re very affordable.